Fyodor Kostenko

Fyodor Yakovlevich Kostenko
Born	February 22, 1896 Bolshaya Martynovka, Russian Empire
Died	May 26, 1942 Soviet Union
Allegiance	Russian Empire Soviet Union
Years of service	1915–1917 (Russian Empire) 1918–1942 (Soviet Union)
Rank	lieutenant general
Commands	2nd Cavalry Corps 26th Army Southwestern Front
Battles/wars	World War I Russian Civil War World War II

Fyodor Yakovlevich Kostenko (Russian, Фёдор Яковлевич Костенко, 1896–1942) was a Soviet corps and army commander.

Biography

He was born in Martynovsky District, Rostov Oblast to an ethnic Ukrainian family. He fought in the Imperial Russian Army during World War I before going over to the Bolsheviks during the subsequent civil war.

In World War II, he commanded the 26th Army (June - September 1941) and the Southwestern Front (December 1941-April 1942). He led the task force during the Yelets Offensive from December 6 to December 16, 1941, which ended with the defeat of several enemy divisions.

Kostenko went missing on May 26, 1942, and was presumed killed, being surrounded during the tragic Second Battle of Kharkov.

He was a recipient of the Order of Lenin, the Order of the Red Banner and the Order of the Red Star.

Sources

• Великая Отечественная война. 1941–1945. События. Люди. Документы: Краткий исторический справочник/ Под общ. ред. О. А. Ржешевского. Сост. Е. К. Жигунов — М.: Политиздат, 1990. — С. 337.
• Колесников Г. М., Лебединский Г. Н., Марков Н. В. и др. Липецк. Справочник-путеводитель. — Воронеж: Центр.-Чернозем. кн. изд-во, 1967.
• Vozhakin, Mikhail Georgievich, ed. (2005). Великая Отечественная. Командармы. Военный биографический словарь [The Great Patriotic War: Army Commanders: Military Biographical Dictionary] (in Russian). Moscow: Kuchkovo Pole. pp. 108–109. ISBN 5860901135.